Music-case



T. RAY. Music CASE.

(No Model.)

No. 548,393. P termed 001;. 22, '1895.

TIIEODORE RAY, OF MIDLAND, TEXAS.

Music-.cAsl-z.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,393, dated October22, 1895. Application filed May 3l, 1895. Serial No, 551,178. (Nomodel.)

To LZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, THEODORE RAY, of Midland, in the county of Midlandand State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inl\Iusic-Cases, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful music case or holder forcarrying, protecting, and using sheet-music, and is so constructed thatby its use the music is not rolled nor creased, is held in place, and itis not necessary to take the music from the case when it is to be used.

Vith these objects in View my invention consists in the improvedconstruction, ar-

' rangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, andafterward specially pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing thecase opened and the indexed folios in place. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of myinventien closed. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the indexedfolios with a ily-leaf open. Figs. 4 and 5 are detailed views of themetal braces. Fig. 6 is a detailed view in section showing how thefolios are to be bound. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of my invention,showing a variation in the construction.

Lilie letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures ofthe drawings.

The letter a indicates the lid.

h and b are L-shaped metal braces for strengthening the ends c and c.

d is a concave flap for covering the front edge at index B.

tl is the hinged back edge which connects the lid a to the bottom g.

c and e' are two straps making a handle for the case, attached to thelid and bottom, respectively, and may be made of any suitable material.The handle is sewed or attached by beads to part d.

f indicates the folios, eachV of which has printed on it a letter of thealphabet, thus constituting an index for the music, cach folio being cutaway so `that the index-letter can beseenwithoutopeningthefclios. Thefolios are bound together by stitching,r or other substantial way, and aspace is left between the folios, so that two or more sheets of musiccan be inserted between them. This space is provided by putting guardsbetween the folios, as shown in Fig. 6. The guards may be in one pieceand made of pulp and covered with cloth; or they may be made of leatheror dexible vulcanized rubber.

B indicates the index, and A indicates the guard. A piece of dexiblematerial C is attached bysewng or gluing it to guard A. This piece C iseither sewed or glued to bottom g at M.

The part d is concave and d is convex, so that when the case is closedit resembles a book.

Fig. l shows the ends c and c attached to the bottom g. Made in this waythe lid ct would cover the edges of ends c and c when closed.

Fig. 7 shows the parts c" and 0 attached to the lid a. The metal bracesh and b would be attached to the lid a instead ot' being attached to thebottom g. k indicates a fiy-leaf. The part d can be attached to thebottom g by means of a suitable latch and clasp, as s. The caseis to bemade of morocco or other leather, plush, cloth, wood, or paper, and tobe neatly finished, with lid and bottom projecting, so as to give thecase the appearance of a book when closed. The folios are to be madelarge enough to hold or cover sheet-music. The braces may extend thewhole length of the case and up the end pieces, as shown in Fig. l; orthey may extend only far enough to brace the case firmly.

The sheets of music are to be placed between the folios. When it isdesired to use a piece of music, turn the lid back and the folio next tothe sheet to be used. lt is not necessary to move the music from thecase. The folios and the bottom of the case are to be bound together.

I do not limit myself to the construction shown, because various changesmay be made Without departing from my invention. l

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A music case consisting ot' folios f, bound together and having an indexat B, a guard roo A, of cloth covered paper pulp, for holding bottom g,and a handle consisting of parts e, said folios apart, a bottom g, boundto said and e,attached to iid a, and bottom g, respectfoios, and piecesc, and c', attached to said ively, all substantially as described.

bottom and strengthened by L-shaped metal THEODORE RAY. 5 braces b, andb', a conceived front edge d, Witnesses:

hinged to the lid a, said lid being hinged to ELZA WHITE,

the convex back edge d', which is hinged to W. H. FUSCH.

